10 Tips for Making 2014 Your Best Year Yet!

As another year winds down and the excitement of a brand new one laden with infinite possibilities lets it’s presence be known, now is your chance to put your best foot forward and make 2014 one of your best yet. Say this with me, “I am a powerful creator.” Say it again, “I AM a powerful creator!!!” Yes, you are. The super cool thing about this new year, is that we are also starting off with a new moon on January 1t! The last time this happened was 19 years ago. New moons bring powerful energy for change and fresh starts. Combine that with the energy of a new calendar year turning over, and you have super manifesting powers!

With that in mind, here are 10 tips to help you make 2014 your most amazing year yet!

Ditch the resolutions and create real change that lasts by writing goals with soul! Instead of the typical, boring goal list that you feel obligated to write because everybody else is, dig really deep and listen to the calling of your soul. What is your big intention for the new year? How do you want to feel? What impact do you want to have in the world? By aligning with the feelings you desire, your deep-rooted intentions, and the impact you want to have in the world, there is a much greater likelihood of you staying interested, motivated, and totally engaged. For example, instead of saying, “I want to lose 10 pounds (and this year I’m really going to do it), a goal with soul would sound more like this: “I want to feel more alive and more energized! I want to feel divinely feminine and sexy in my own skin. I want the sense of accomplishment and rush of self-confidence knowing I finally did it. I want tons of energy to enjoy chasing after my kids and still have enough left over to start that really amazing project.” See the difference? Which do you think has more staying power?

Follow your bliss. Whatever you have going on in your life, make sure you are doing something that makes you happy every single day! Passion is the internal fire that lights us up and keep us going through the tough times. Don’t put yours on the back burner. Instead, make sure your flame is kept healthy and strong by spending time nourishing it each day.

Show up! Often, the most difficult part of creating a new habit or practice is having the discipline to show up each day. But, on the flip side of that, if you can just commit to showing up for it, the rest will happen naturally. In other words, get your booty to the gym, the classroom, the meeting, in front of the computer typing feverishly, or wherever else it needs to be to make good things happen in your life! In doing so, you’ve already covered the tough part. Next, make sure you are showing up mindfully and without distractions so that you can be fully engaged in the activity. Stay committed and you are pretty much guaranteed to see progress and success over time. So, no excuses or compromise. Show up!

Make self-care a priority. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anybody else very well either. And, the world needs you! So, make sure you are loving and nurturing yourself regularly. This includes your physical fitness, health, mental well-being, spirituality, relationships, finances, career, personal goals, and anything else that needs attention to ensure you are healthy, happy, peaceful and fulfilled in your life.

Say “no” to anything that doesn’t totally excite your soul. Our most valuable resource is our time. We only have so many hours in each day and we can never go backwards to get it back. Spend yours wisely! Often, this means saying no, and possibly even disappointing others along this way. But, this is your life and these are your dreams. If your time is filled up doing stuff that you don’t absolutely love, than there isn’t going to be enough space for your true love and calling to seep in. So, before saying ‘yes’ to something, ask yourself if it lines up with your vision and your goals with soul. Sit on it for at least 24 hours. If the answer is not an excited “Hell yes!!” than consider taking a pass on it.

Help others. When your goals and dreams include more than just helping yourself, they seem to come alive that much quicker and more vibrantly. It’s just one of those unexplained laws of the Universe. Bonus: it feels good. Whether it’s sharing knowledge and wisdom, your time, or allocating a percentage of sales or income to giving back, consider some ways you can help impact the world with your gifts in a positive way. It all comes back around.

Practice humility and grace. When you achieve some amount of success in your life, always remember where you came from and how hard you worked to get there. Also, be mindful that there is an ebb and flow to these sorts of things. Be grateful and enjoy your achievements in the moment, but be ready and willing to continue to work hard to keep them up. Success also has a way of sometimes bringing up adversity. Make it your policy to embrace the positive, disregard the negative (with the exception of any valuable lessons you can extract), and handle any difficult situations or people with dignity and grace. You will go far if you can master the art of this!

Savor and celebrate. Sometimes in our day-to-day routines, we don’t realize how far we’ve come. Any progress is good progress! Check in with your goals often and be sure to celebrate all of the big and small accomplishments along the way. You deserve it! It feels good to treat yourself and also serves as a reminder of the hard work you’ve put in to make steps in the direction of your dreams. Life is about the journey more so than the destination. So, enjoy the ride!

Don’t give up! When the going gets tough, so many people want to throw in the towel. This is when you’re passion and devotion is put to the test as you will need to dig even deeper to keep pushing along. You wouldn’t train for a marathon and give up a mile before the finish line because you are tired. No way! You push through it. A spectator sign that I’ve seen in a couple marathons that I’ve ran is “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” So true! Change out a couple of words and apply it to chasing your dreams, and keep trying.

Have fun!!! Don’t take life so serious. Nobody gets out alive, anyway. Laugh. Be silly. Dance. Forgive. Let go. Embrace. Smile. Enjoy. With two businesses, two young children, and a beautifully chaotic life of my own, embracing an abundance of unbridled joy is one of my biggest intentions for next year. I hope you will join me, let loose a little, and let the corners of your mouth turn up more too! Let’s change the world with smiles on our faces.